This invention relates generally to a hearing aid and especially to a hearing aid employing differential audio inputs combined with a programmable filtered frequency response. While the art of hearing aids is generally well known and well understood, hearing aid users continue to suffer from the non-discriminating nature of hearing aids, resulting in the equal amplification of both audio information and background noise. Additionally, it is well known in the medical arts relating to human audio function, that most hearing loss does not take place equally across the audio frequency spectrum, but rather is localized at certain frequencies and to certain levels.
While hearing aids have taken various forms in an attempt to both cancel background noise and to more accurately customize the frequency response of the hearing aid to its particular user, these attempts have resulted in hearing aids that require constant adjustment by their owners as well as extended and elaborate set-up procedures.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a hearing aid having differential audio inputs coupled with a programmable frequency response to provide the hard of hearing with the capability to listen to individual conversations in the midst of high ambient background noise, and to have the frequency response of the hearing aid tailored to the individual user in an expedited and low cost manner.